No Duke Will Do - Eva Devon Page 0,40

he thrust forward, she gasped at the impossibility of it.

He groaned, holding still.

Her fingers dug into his back as she panted, trying to accommodate him.

“Oi-Oi can stop,” he rasped.

“Don’t. . . you dare,” she replied before she wrapped her arms about him.

Her words must have driven him over some unseen edge because he slowly deepened his thrust as he angled her hips.

A sharp pain ran through her, and then. . . Then it was gone.

Her body melded into his, and as he began a rugged rhythm, she began to rock against him, allowing something positively primal to take her over.

The need of his body increased, his muscles taught.

She held him like an anchor until he placed his hand between their bodies and stroked her anew until the fullness she felt from his shaft and the stroke of his fingers drove her into bliss.

He cried her name out like a prayer as she threw her own head back, lost in pleasure.

As he shuddered against her, he was the most vulnerable she’d ever seen him.

And she was amazed that she could see him like that.

Ragged breaths filled the air as he carefully fell to her side and pulled her against him.

She propped herself up and gazed down on his face, softened in this moment of pleasure.

His chest rose and fell as he took in her gaze. “No regrets, Mary?”

“Never,” she said firmly. “Never.”

“No going back now,” he said, caressing her lower lip.

Instinctively, she bit his thumb then held his palm to her cheek. “No,” she agreed. “Never back.”

With those words, he pulled her back atop him, splaying her legs across his hips.

Her eyes widened. “Again,” she whispered. “I want you again. I want you always.”

“Always,” he growled, his hands guiding her hips.

And she knew she’d found her home at last.

Chapter 18

The dirty gray dawn of London slipped in through the window, spilling over onto the bed and the floor.

Mary stretched against Heath, delighting in the feel of his hard body along hers. A whole world had opened itself to her now, and she caught herself smiling. This was happiness. This moment right now, with him, was peace. She’d never known such peace, but now in his arms, she absolutely loved it.

Suddenly, he flung an arm over his forehead and said, “How the devil are we going to tell your family?”

“I don’t know,” she confessed. “But I suppose we must.”

“Must we?” he asked. “Must we tell them right away? I feel like we’ve had so little time together that we should try to enjoy it first, before they all start yelling and clamoring and claiming I’m the devil.”

She frowned. She had not truly considered how she would tell her mother and brother. Her heart skipped a beat. “I don’t know that they will do that.”

“Oh,” he groaned. “They will. I know your brother. He’ll try to have my guts for garters, and rightly.”

“So, I’ve heard,” she teased. “You were helping him.”

“Helping him?” he said, clearly trying to look innocent. Then he cleared his throat. “Well, yes, I was, and you approve?”

“The Duke of Drake told me you’ve been giving him aid.”

Heath suddenly looked sheepish. “I wanted to help him. I knew what trouble he was in.”

She squeezed his arm. “And by helping him, you helped me,” she said softly.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Well, you might not thank me for all the ways I did.”

She shook her head then kissed his bared chest, savoring the slight salt of him. “He is happier than he’s been in some time, and because of your help, I think he’s going to find love.”

“With Lady Harriet,” he said.

“Does everyone know but Robert?” she laughed.

Heath rumbled out a laugh to match hers. “Yes, I think so. He’ll probably be the last to admit it.”

She grinned up at him. “You’re almost certainly correct. Robert is so afraid of happiness. I hope that he embraces it.”

Heath wrapped his arms about her. “I do too. Just as we have done.”

“Yes,” she breathed, snuggling into his strong fortress of a body. “When shall we be married?”

“Today?” he asked, kissing the top of her head. “Tomorrow? Whenever you wish, but let us not wait too long.”

She grinned up at him. “Are you asking me to run away with you?”

“I think I am,” he said. “Would that be so very terrible?”

“Not terrible at all. I think it’d be the most exciting thing of my life. Let us do it.”

She thought of her mother then, how disappointed she would be if she wasn’t at her wedding, but